It's Your Call, Chief, On Spotting Errors

August 14, 1998|By ROB KYFF Rob Kyff is a teacher and writer in West Hartford.

As you read this story of a wild-goose chase, cry ``fowl'' every time you spot one of the 20 usage or spelling errors it contains:

The chief justice of the Supreme Court was on tenderhooks. Her Scotch friends had warned her light years ago about the dangers facing Canadian geese that had migrated further north to the Artic. The climactic changes there meant the geese might drink raw sewerage or be hit by a cement truck.

And now the geese had made their first annual migration to these perilous climbs. ``Go back from whence you came!'' she wanted to shout to the birds, though she was loathe to do so.

They reminded her of the children she had begat, all born during daylight-savings time. She knew how to reign in her three children and keep them from harming each other, so now she wanted to take these same kind of preventative measures to protect the geese.

Errors:

1) The correct title is ``chief justice of the United States.'' 2) tenterhooks. 3) The correct adjective is ``Scottish.'' 4) ``Light years'' is a measurement of distance (the distance traveled by light in one year), not time. 5) Canada geese.

6) Use ``farther'' for physical distance, ``further'' for figurative distance. 7) Arctic. 8) climatic (``Climactic'' is the adjective form of ``climax.'') 9) sewage. (``Sewerage'' means the system for removing sewage.) 10) concrete truck. (Cement is the powder mixed with water and sand or gravel to make concrete.)

11) ``First annual'' is illogical. They've done it once, but how do you know they'll do it every year? 12) climes, short for ``climates.'' 13) ``From whence'' is redundant. ``Whence'' means ``from where.'' 14) The adjective is ``loath''; the verb is ``loathe.'' 15) ``Begat'' means ``to father'' and can't be used with a woman.

16) daylight-saving time (not ``savings''). 17) rein in. 18) keep them for harming one another. When more than two people are involved, use ``one another,'' not ``each other.'' 19) ``this kind'' or ``these kinds,'' but never ``these kind.'' 20) preventive, not preventative.